Sony Corporation announced Wednesday that it has acquired Redmond, Wa.-based venture corporation Micronics, Inc. Sony said it made the acquisition to accelerate its research, development and commercialization of Point of Care diagnostic equipment.
Near patient Point of Care diagnosis refers to the ability to facilitate rapid and accurate results via testing that can be performed in a physician's office, emergency room, or patient's hospital bedside, rather than having to send patient's specimens to off-site laboratories.
Using its microfluidics technologies, Micronics has had success in the advancement of near patient Point of Care products in both the molecular and immunoassay diagnostic test domain, in part through its collaborative partnerships with private and public organizations, both within the U.S. and internationally.
Micronics will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, and will work with Sony's life sciences research and development team to jointly develop technologies and new products. The company will continue to operate in Redmond under the current Micronics management team, headed by President Karen Hedine.
"As a new member of the Sony family, we at Micronics aim to make full use of Sony's superior consumer-based technologies, product development capabilities and capacity to distribute products globally in the development of Micronics' products. We believe that the powerful combination of Sony's expertise with that of Micronics' will lend itself to a new generation of market-responsive diagnostic products," said Hedine.